Six people were found dead in Muscatine on Monday afternoon, and police said the suspected gunman later fatally shot himself after fleeing one of the crime scenes. Chief Anthony Kies identified the suspect as 52-year-old Ryan Willis McFarland of Muscatine, turning a day of scattered emergency calls into a single grim picture.
The killings immediately rippled through the Muscatine Community School District, which said two of the victims were employees and two were current students. Counselors and support resources were set to be available at 8 a.m. Tuesday at Muscatine High School, Susan Clark Junior High, Madison Elementary, McKinley Elementary and Franklin Elementary, while a vigil was scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Muscatine High School Stadium.
Police were first called to a home at 210 Park Ave. around noon and found four people dead there with gunshot wounds. Around 1 p.m., the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office asked the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office to check on one of the victims, and deputies later learned that person was at a business in Muscatine. That victim was later found dead in the 800 block of Grandview Avenue. Officers also found another man dead from gunshot wounds inside a home in the 1500 block of Mill Street.
What made the investigation harder to follow was the spread of the scenes. Police said the preliminary investigation points to a domestic incident, and said the people killed are believed to be McFarland’s family, but they were dealing with multiple locations across the city as the day unfolded. McFarland fled from the Park Avenue scene and was later located on Riverfront Trail near the pedestrian bridge, where he fatally shot himself while talking to police.
The Muscatine Police Department was being assisted by the Muscatine Fire Department, the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa State Patrol and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and authorities asked the public to stay away from the riverfront near Park Avenue while the work continued. For Muscatine, the day ended with six dead, a school district on alert and an investigation still trying to stitch together what set the violence in motion. For related coverage, see Six dead in Muscatine Iowa shooting as police identify suspect.
